Why RIT

I’ve written blog posts previously talking about some of why I picked RIT but I thought I’d give it a 3rd year viewpoint. Check out older posts [here] or [here].It seems the further away from freshman year I get, the harder it is to pinpoint exactly what it was that drew me here. Mostly probably due to the fact that I’ve become so accustom to life in Rochester that I can’t imagine it any other way.

I remember the first time walking on campus for a campus visit and just feeling totally comfortable with the whole thing. As I continued my college process and began getting acceptance letters from various schools, I was constantly drawn back to RIT.

Maybe it was the orange? Or just the fact that it had the perfect balance between art/design and everything else. And oh man, if I had only known about hockey back then I would have sent in my deposit on the spot. Perhaps that shouldn't be your only basis for a college decision, however.

Regardless, I don't regret my decision one bit and compared to some, I realize that I had it quite easy. I was not totally scared about the idea of being far from home, I actually wanted to move to a cold environment & I figured college was a good excuse to stop being shy...

So with that in mind, here are 3 things I imagine people worry about...Far Away from Home- You’ll get homesick occasionally, let’s address that one up front. But you might also get homesick if you’re at a school 20 minutes away. Sometimes I get so caught up in homework, hanging out with people and figuring out what to cook for dinner that I forget to schedule time to miss home (Sorry, Mom!) I’m about 6.5 hours away from home and other than breaks, I don’t go home. I do, however, use a nifty invention called ichat. It’s fantastic & you should try it. It’s like having your parents/sister/dog/cat/pet mouse in your living room. Winter- The winters? Not bad. It snows, it’s cold, I slip on ice occasionally and look like a giant goofball. But they really aren’t bad. If you’re looking for a reason to knock a school off your list, weather should not be it. Funny thing is as I'm writing this it's April 18th and it's snowing! Surprise, surprise. Rochester likes to keep things interesting.

Making Friends- There pretty much is not an easier time to make friends than upon entering college. I used to be ridiculously shy and let’s just say I’m over that (for the most part). Now, I frequently make friends with people in the aisles of Wegmans (talking about the enormous quanity of peanut butter choices is clearly a good topic for making friends). But anyway, freshman year on your dorm floor it is so easy to make friends. Open doors are the way to go. Or pacing back and forth in the hall, that could work too. Despite having 16,000+ students on campus, you're always bound to know at least one person and I'm often shocked at just how many people know each other through random connections. Through clubs, organizations, your job, classes or dorm floor there are a ridiculous number of ways to meet people.So, what is your biggest worry about coming to college? Or perhaps you don't have any and you're eagerly awaiting August!

Comments (2)

Lillian

Wow, it sounds like an amazing school! I'm actually relieved to hear there's someone as shy as me that went to RIT and conquered it. I have social anxiety, and I try not to let that get in the way of my goals, but even so, going to college is going to be quite the challenge for me.^^; To make matters more difficult, I live in California, I'm the first person in my family to graduate from high school, and I want to go to a college across the country!8D Quite the dilemma right?

Emily Okey

College is a great time to get over the fear of being shy. There are tons of people here from all over with different backgrounds-- even some from California! It's nice to have people in the same boat as you as far as being so far away from home. Have you been accepted yet or are you applying for the following year?